Athletics at Georgetown

University Archives Exhibitions:

A number of exhibitions feature synthesized information related to athletics. However, not every exhibition is presented in its entirety online and may be missing images and/or captions. If you come across an incomplete exhibition online, and would like more information, contact an Archives' staff member for help.

Amusement in the Archives: a sampling of student diversions and extracurricular activities at Georgetown: This exhibition features a variety of information on athletics at Georgetown, beginning in 1812 with the erection of the handball court to the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship in 1984.

There Goes Old Georgetown: a history of football on the hilltop from 1830-1951: This exhibition traces the history of Football at Georgetown from its early foundation to the suspension of the sport in 1951.

Baseball at Georgetown: a selection from the University Archives: This exhibition traces the history of baseball at Georgetown from its early foundation and first intercollegiate game up to the 2000s.

Crew at Georgetown: a selection of materials from the University Archives: This exhibition traces the history of Crew at Georgetown from its early foundation up to the 2000s. Many images are missing from this exhibition; however, the captions are present.

Georgetown Men's Basketball, 1906-1907 to 2006-2007: a spotlight on ten coaches, ten players, and ten decades of hoops: This exhibition was staged to commemorate the 100th anniversary of basketball being played at Georgetown. Only captions are available for this exhibition.

You Don't Know Jack: a small tribute to the mascots of Georgetown: This exhibit features information about the various mascots associated with Georgetown over time, including those not affiliated with athletics.

Faster, Higher, Stronger: Six Georgetown Olympians: This exhibition traces the Olympic participation of six athletes, beginning with the 1900 Olympic Games up to the 1996 Paralympic Games.

Faster, Higher, Stronger: Georgetown Olympians: Not to be confused with the above show, this exhibition documents the Olympic activities of four Georgetown Olympians from 1900-1932. Only captions are available for this exhibition.

225 Images for 225 Years of Georgetown University: This exhibition features various images, including many related to athletics, throughout the history of Georgetown.

University Archives Blog Posts:

Georgetown's Thanksgiving Football Game, 1894: This post tells the story of the 1894 Thanksgiving Day football game against the Columbia Athletic Club dubbed by The Washington Post as "...the fiercest football game ever played in Washington."

...and he declined to mix... : This post documents the story of a baseball game between Georgetown and Harvard in 1903 in which Georgetown's team captain, Sam Apperious, sat out the game because he refused to play against William Clarence Matthews, who was black.

Nine Point Harry and the Kingfish: This post recounts a story from Georgetown alum and football great Harry Costello, after unexpectedly waking up in a hotel room with U.S. Senator Huey P. Long of Louisiana.

Shoemaker's Shop Ledger Yields Serendipitous Football Fact: This post documents the discovery of a ledger entry for payment of a piece of leather to make a "foot ball."

3 Cheers for Georgetown: This post highlights several cheers and yells used by Georgetown students and fans at early athletic contests.

Job Wanted (to entail no work, and only occasional attendance): This post recounts a story about Georgetown alum and track athlete William Holland who attempted to solicit a job that wouldn't require much of him while he completed his medical studies and trained for the Olympics.

Books:

A History of Georgetown University by Robert Emmet Curran. This three-volume set explores many facets of Georgetown's history in great detail, including athletics. Curran's footnotes are particularly useful in tracking down archival material to study. This set has not been digitized but is available in the Library and in the Booth Family Center for Special Collections.

The Georgetown Hoyas: The Story of a Rambunctious Football Team by Morris A. Bealle: This book documents the history of the team as well as recounts each season and team into the 1940s.

Georgetown University Basketball Vault: The History of the Hoyas by John Reagan: This book tells this story of Georgetown's basketball team from its founding to 2010, employing the use of reproduced material from the Archives to give the book a scrapbook feel.